The purpose of this article is to highlight an issue that is likely to affect many women working in higher education – but it’s one that they, their colleagues, and their managers are probably unaware of.
In general, there is now a much greater understanding of the issues for women, and their male colleagues and managers, around peri- and post-menopause. Obviously that is not specific to HE but something that many organisations, including universities, have been keen to provide information and support on.
What is less well publicised is the link between hormonal dysregulation and an exacerbation of neurodivergent traits in neurodivergent people. You might be wondering why this would be a particular issue for the HE sector. But there is evidence to suggest that universities are likely to attract a higher percentage of neurodivergent staff in academic roles (albeit often undisclosed), due to the strengths that are associated with many neurodivergent behaviours.
These strengths include the ability to hyperfocus on the details of a single topic for a long time, without noticing when one is tired or hungry, for example. This is often a skill or behaviour that is displayed by those with significant responsibility for research.
Perfectionism is also a known neurodivergent behaviour, often displayed by academics involved in both teaching and research, as are high levels of intellectual curiosity, creativity and original thinking. Finally, many neurodivergent individuals have a strong empathy towards the disadvantaged, linked to a strong desire to improve social justice – without this, many academics would not have decided to work in higher education.
Having any or all of these skills does not mean that one is neurodivergent, but rather that neurodivergent individuals often have strengths in these areas. There is also an understanding that those individuals who excel at mathematics, and other STEM related disciplines, are more likely to be neurodivergent. Again this will include many academics working in HE.
Making the link
It is only recently that psychologists and schools have started becoming more aware of how neurodivergent traits manifest in children, and so more children are being diagnosed with these behaviours – and thus able to get the help, support and reasonable adjustments they need to thrive.
Not so with the current adult workforce. When I was at school there was some awareness of dyslexia, although it was rarely talked about, but nothing about autism or ADHD. Indeed I first learned I had dyslexia during a university interview aged 17 when I was told that my English teacher had “helpfully” declared this in her reference. There was no awareness that finding out this way might be a shock, or that I might have other challenges that might benefit from support.
Even when my children were school age (some 20 or 30 years ago), very few children in their classes were diagnosed, and then it was limited to boys with disruptive behaviours.
There is now a greater understanding of the different forms of neurodivergence and, in particular, ADHD and autistic spectrum disorder. People with these neurodevelopmental conditions can exhibit the strengths above as well as less welcome ones, such as overwhelm, difficulty coping with sudden changes, the need for routine and one’s own space, sensory issues including noise and lighting, and suicidal ideation and self-harm.
Why is this a problem? I went undiagnosed for 59 years. I could have gone through life without needing a diagnosis – had it not been for the exacerbation of traits that I now recognise was a result of the hormonal dysregulation I have experienced during the past 15 years. Years of significant overwhelm leading to dark thoughts and a desire to self-harm, extreme reactions to certain lights, noise, a dislike of being touched and an increasing inability to cope with change – particularly last-minute changes (not uncommon in higher education at present).
I experienced similar issues during puberty and pregnancy. As with menopause, I put this down to hormonal change but failed to appreciate that this was linked to my, then unknown, neurodivergence.
From recent experience and observation, I began to suspect that autistic traits increased as we aged and for women were exacerbated when linked with the symptoms of menopause. However when I attended a course on neurodiversity in the workplace facilitated by Zara Sloane, I learned that there was indeed a known link between hormonal dysregulation and an exacerbation of neurodivergent traits.
In that same course, I also learned that the positive traits of many neurodivergent conditions were the very behaviours that arguably made great researchers and academics. So there are also likely to be many undiagnosed neurodivergent women in HE, unaware that the extreme physical, emotional, and functional impairment that they experience during their monthly cycle could be due to a neurodivergent condition which when treated, or even just better understood by themselves and their managers, could make life much more manageable.
Supporting neurodivergent women in academia
We now have more women in the UK workplace in general and also in higher education. Many of these are entering peri- and post-menopausal stages. In every menopause café my workplace runs, I hear examples of extreme symptoms women have that are not being sufficiently helped by HRT and other therapies. Is there something more going on? I am not saying we need to diagnose every potentially neurodivergent academic but, if someone suspects they might have a neurodivergent condition, and wants a screening, should we not find the resource for this?
Just knowing that my monthly cycle, peri- and post-menopausal symptoms have been and are affected by my autism, in ways that other women don’t experience, is liberating. I now understand the overwhelm better, and can put in place periods of quiet work during the day to help regulate me. I can remove myself from situations that are particularly noisy and find a sympathetic ear without it leading to a crisis. But what about the thousands of other female academics who have not yet been diagnosed and are unaware of this relationship?
If you have read this far, please bring this to the attention of your managers and leadership teams. Together, let’s publicise this link and get the support for the neurodivergent women in academia who think they just have extreme hormonal symptoms and don’t realise this is connected to neurodivergent conditions which need treating differently.